It’s easy to live a fantasy life.
The one where you think all of your problems are unique. Or a life where you think your sh*t doesn’t stink. I was that person for years. One of the antidotes to the devastation was listening to uncomfortable truths.
Here is a curated list of uncomfortable truths from Orange Book on Twitter, to make you rethink your life and reawaken your creativity.
“The people you attract (or don’t attract) reflect your vibes.”
Surrounded by drama kings and queens?
Audit your inner circle. The people in your life are there because of how you behave and the way you think. If there are some duds in your circle then personal responsibility is how you take accountability for it.
Don’t worry, I’m not a saint. I had drug dealers and criminals in my inner circle at one point in life. Not anymore.
The vibe you put out is crucial. When every conversation with you starts with attacking other people or pointing out all the problems with the world, then it’s likely the good people will exit quietly through the trapdoor.
Check your vibes to attract high-quality people in your life. Go from a high amount of negativity to slightly more positivity.
Positive people attract. Negative people repel.
“No one cares about your opinion until you show results.”
Opinions are like butt cheeks. Everybody’s got a pair. Many people seek to be thought leaders or to build an online audience. Fine.
Remember this: nobody cares in the beginning.
We pay attention to people who have results, not loud voices that have achieved nothing and use clickbait to recreate the CNN news headlines.
Time in the game beats time commenting on the game.
“It’s not lack of talent. It’s fear of making sacrifices.”
There are so many excuses for why we don’t succeed.
Talent has nothing to do with it. What you achieve in life is in direct proportion to how many sacrifices you’re willing to make.
I’ve watched writer Ayodeji Awosika turn into an online success over the years. It’s no mistake. Every day he makes sacrifices to show up and hit publish. His output is phenomenal.
Big goals start out with sacrifices. If you make them for long enough, then the results will lower the number of sacrifices you need to make in the future.
Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.
— Jerzy Gregorek
“You truly appreciate life only after you almost die.”
I have an I-don’t-give-a-f*ck attitude in life. I didn’t come out of my mother’s womb like this. No.
I was a deeply afraid little boy for many years. I lived in fear.
A near-miss with cancer woke me up from the snoozefest I was living.
Sometimes I hope everybody gets to have a near-death encounter. When you do, you stop caring about dumb stuff. Most of what happens in life is useless nonsense that won’t matter in a week.
Life is a miracle. You have a one in a billion chance of being here, yet here you are. Every day should be a celebration that you’re alive, and that you didn’t die yet. Call it gratitude if you must. Or think of it as being given a gift better than $1 billion.
There are billions of dead people in graves all around the world, hoping to have what you have right now. Still upset with the world?
“You don’t know how important it is until you lose it.”
I tend to take things for granted. Earlier in life I met a spectacular woman. She could solve any math problem. She had social skills better than Oprah.
Yet she left me because I never appreciated her brilliance. I thought that once I’d won her heart the battle was over.
It took me a long time to get over her.
I didn’t get a second chance. She didn’t — ever — take my calls again. I lost a good friend too. That’s what happens when you pass through life, forgetting all the people who make it awesome, without a single ounce of gratitude.
When we lose something we crave it again. Don’t wait to experience loss to be reminded of this uncomfortable truth.
“Most people don’t know you exist and don’t care about you.”
Attention-seeking is a plague on social media.
It leads to blaming and complaining which is stupid. If you live the life of a victim that has been harmed by society, it’s going to be a lonely existence.
Most people don’t wake up thinking of you. They wake up thinking of themselves.
You can go from being held back by the buffet lunch of tragedies available to you in life, or you can take the bad stuff that’s happened to you and use it as a form of inspiration to help people facing the same problem. One is pointless. One is useful. The choice is yours.
“It doesn’t matter how much you learn, you will never feel ready.”
Side hustles are something I’m passionate about. Lots of people I meet are dying to start one.
Yet they don’t.
The reason is they always want more information. There’s always some event that needs to happen before they can start.
- “I can’t do it until the holidays.”
- “When I have free time I will.”
- “When this project is finished I might.”
- “When the kids are grown up I can.”
There comes a point where learning is simply a fancy word for procrastination.
You learn by doing.
Get some inspiration and then experiment with the magic of trial and error, to turn the generic learning you’ve done into a customized path forward.
“Every single person you love will die, or you die first.”
This last truth made me extremely emotional when I read it.
Instantly I thought of a young woman I worked with. She taught me so much. She’d show up to work with the best attitude. She knew if I had an off day, and would find tiny ways to snap me out of it.
When I got fired I stayed in touch with her. But not as much as I should have.
I had her name on my to-do list to call. I kept saying to myself, “you’re too busy this week. Maybe next week.” Months went by and I forgot. I had no idea that the cancer she once beat had returned.
She didn’t have long to live. Chemotherapy had failed. By the time I got time to call her and return the favor for all the awesomeness she gave me, she was dead. I watched her funeral on Youtube last year, due to the global health crisis.
I felt terrible. I miss her.
If angels exist then she is definitely one.
Remember how fragile every human life is. Stay in regular contact with the people you care about. Don’t delay important calls. Make calls on the way to work or while driving if you have to.
Every moment with awesome people is worth it. Don’t wait until they die to remember that uncomfortable truth.
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